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Biographical details

Kieron completed his PhD in the Department of Biochemistry, within the Faculty of Science at the University of Sydney in 2004. His thesis investigated the role of the creatine phosphate shuttle in glucose stimulated insulin secretion in vivo following diet and exercise interventions. Kieron joined the Faculty of Health Sciences in 2003 as a lecturer and in 2012 was promoted to Senior Lecturer. For the past 10 years he has been responsible for the design and implementation of curriculum in units of study focussed on metabolic biochemistry and exercise physiology to both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. During this time, Kieron’s research portfolio has included both human and small animal studies investigating the role of diet and physical activity on parameters of fuel storage and utilisation as they pertain to dysregulated metabolic states such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Research interests

Regulation of Fuel Storage and Utilisation. Since his PhD work Kieron has been interested in understanding how macronutrient content of the diet alters the cellular regulation of fat and carbohydrate storage and utilisation. While his work initially focussed on diets high in omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, since 2005 Kieron has been a member of a multi-disciplinary team investigating higher protein, lower carbohydrate diets for weight loss and metabolic health in young overweight women and since 2010 Kieron has collaborated with researchers in the School of Psychology to investigate the effect of high carbohydrate diets-that result from excess consumption of sugar sweetened beverages-on both physiological and behavioural outcomes.

Developmental Origins of Disease. Since 2007, Kieron has collaborated with researchers at the University of Cambridge, UK to establish a research portfolio that investigates the role of maternal nutrition and physical activity on offspring development. His work specifically investigates the capacity for physical activity to ameliorate the effect of maternal overnutrition and its association with the development of glucose intolerance and excess adiposity in offspring. Kieron believes that by understanding how the maternal environment induces change in offspring development, insights will be gained towards understanding the mechanisms underlying individual variance observed in population based health treatments.

Teaching and supervision

For the past 10 years Kieron has coordinated and delivered lectures to all levels of undergraduate postgraduate students within the course work degrees of the Discipline of Exercise and Sport Science. Primarily these have been EXSS2018Exercise Physiology and Biochemistry and EXSS2022Exercise Physiology Training Adaptations.

In addition to the delivery of these units of study, Kieron has been an active contributor to the design and review of curriculum within these courses and has been a collaborator on University of Sydney Teaching Improvement and Equipment Scheme (TIES) and Strategic Teaching Enhancement Projects (STEPS) grants.

Current projects

Flavour learning and food consumption in rats and humans: Implications for Obesity ARC Discovery Project 2014 – 2016. Major changes in food consumption over the past few decades include increases in snacks between meals and sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption. This project will improve understanding of how learned properties of flavours influence the impact of snacks on subsequent energy consumption and the impact on health of switching from SSBs to non-nutritive sweetened “diet” drinks.

Randomised control trial of exercise for the management of cannabis withdrawal in adult humans NHMRC Project Grant 2014 – 2016. Cannabis is the most widely used drug in the world. It is estimated that approximately 10% of those who ever use cannabis will go on to meet criteria for dependence. There is emerging evidence that exercise may reduce craving and use in dependent cannabis users, it is also possible that exercise may reduce cannabis withdrawal symptoms by promoting the release of THC from fat cells. This project aims to examine the role of an exercise intervention in the management of cannabis withdrawal, explore the mechanisms by which exercise affects cannabis withdrawal severity, and consider the clinical implications of the findings

Mechanisms of Adiposity Accompanying Lymphoedema University of Sydney FHS Collaborative Research Grant 2013 – 2014. The newly formed Adiposity and Lymphoedema research team brings together researchers from diverse backgrounds and expertise to determine the underlying triggers that cause adiposity to develop in a lymphoedematous limb and how it can be best managed. Breast cancer-related lymphoedema is common, particularly in women whose axillary lymph nodes have been removed, and can present in the ipsilateral hand, arm, breast or chest wall The aims of this research group are to determine the nature of the adiposity in the lymphoedematous limb; the underlying triggers for this condition; and effective treatments.

2012

2011

Can a glutamine supplement be used in athletes to reduce the risk of injury from heatstroke?; Ruell P, Rooney K, Thompson M; New South Wales Sporting Injuries Committee/Research and Injury Prevention Scheme.

Rooney, K., Gwinn, T., O'Connor, H. (2006). Development of and student response to an interdisciplinary practical assessment in an exercise & sport science degree. 29th Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia Annual Conference HERDSA 2006, Australia: Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia.

Rooney, K., Gwinn, T., O'Connor, H. (2006). Development of and student response to an interdisciplinary practical assessment in an exercise & sport science degree. 29th Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia Annual Conference HERDSA 2006, Australia: Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia.